Shoe



De. 22,1931. G, W, Bgm f 1,837,518

SHOE

Filed Aug. ll, 1924l Patented Dec. `22, y1931 UNITED STATES pPAT'EISJT, ori-#ICE GEORGE. W. BLAIR, 0F MISHAWAKA, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO MISHAWAKA RUDBER AND WOOLEN MAANUFACIURING-COMPANY, 0F MISHAWAKA, INDIANA, A CORPORATION 0F INDIANA sHoE l Application led August 11, 1924. Serial No. 731,262.

`proper fit, and also includes provision for facilitating the operation of the slider or operating member of the quick operating fasf tener. it being understood that l use the term shoe in a broad sense to include not only what are commonly called shoes but also overshoes, boots and the like.

Shoes and particularly overshoes have I been made heretofore with a quick operating fastener consisting of a series of fastener elements on the forward edges of the two sides of the upper which are adapted to be interlocked and released b v movement of a cam slide therealong. Such a fastening, while desirable because of its -convenience and saving of time in applying and removing the shoe, has the disadvantage that it is not adjustable to vary the size of the upper, and shoes or overshoes utilizing this fastener often times do not fit properly. l

With my invention I overcome this disadvantage by constructing the portion of the shoe along the instep` ankle and leg with elastic or extensible material which is arranged to alford elastic expansion ofthe upconstruction` the cam slide operates in close contact with the tongue which is usually provided under the fastening, and in my inven- 'tion have further constructed the tongue so as to avoid any irregularity in the surface of the tongue which would impede the operation of the slider. 1

The principal objects of my invention are to lprovide a shoe with a quick operating fastener which is adapted to lit legs and insteps of various sizes; to form the upper portion of the shoe with elastic material properly located to permit enlargement or expansion over the instep and around the ankle and leg,

to apply the lining in a relaxed condition so that it is highly extensible inthe completedv shoe and does not restrict enlargement of the upper; to arrange the lining so that it is particularly capable of stretching over the instep as well as around the leg; to provide a foxing around the lower edge of the upper which affords additional elasticity; to construct the tongue or flap under the slider so that it will maintain a smooth surface over which the slider operates; to reinforce the tongue or flap so that it remains extended and does not readily crease or fold along the line of operation of the slider; and in gen'- eral, to provide an improved shoe structure with a quick operating fastener which is adapted to tit legs, ankles and insteps of dif ferent sizes and `also compensates for heels of different heights and wherein the objections and disadvantages present in shoes of this character now on the market are avoided.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an overshoe, in the closed position, embodying my improvements and with portions broken away to disclose details of construction:

Fig. 2 an enlarged sectional view. taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the bellows tongue shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. l a fragmentary sectional view substantially on the line 4 -4 of Fig. 1 showing the construction of the foxing; and

Fig. 5 a detail view, partly in section of portions of the interlocking members and the cam slider for interlocking and releasing same. t

Referring to the drawings in which I have shown my invention applied to an overshoe. although it lis to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. the reference numeral 1 indicates the upper, which is divided down the front to form separable side portions 2 and 3. each of which has a series of fastener elements 4 along the` forward edge, which are adapted to be interlockedl and released by a cam slideV 5. which is flared spreader 6 extending from front to back. so as to form divergentchannels o1' guides for progressively drawing togetherand interlockv at the upper end and provided with a tapered 4 overshoe.

ing the opposed series of elements 4 or releas` greatly, but also on account -of heels of shoes.

being made of various heights so that the leg, ankle and instep is raised more or less in the Consequently, even though the overshoe may fit a person properly when wearing a shoe with ascertain style of heel, it

will not iit with a shoe having a heel of dif-L ferent height. This lack of lit results in some cases in the overshoe being entirely too loose for comfort and neat appearance, and in other cases too tight, and in the latter case not only imposesy an excessive strain on the overshoe but seriously interferes with or prevents the operation of the slider for opening and closing the overshoe. To avoid this objectionable feature, I have made the upper portion of the shoel with elastic material suitably arranged to permit expansion of the portion. of the upper over the instep and around the leg, and thus cause the shoe to fit properly over insteps and around legs of various sizes, and with heels lof different heights.

This result may be accomplished in various ways, for example -as shown in Figs. 1` and 2, by constructing the upper of the shoe in a manner so that it is freely extensible. lIn overshoes, it is customary to form theupper of a facing and a lining with a coating ofsuitlable material on the inner and outer surfaces respectively thereof which serves to secure the facing and lining together and form a thin sheet of waterproofing therebetween. Heretofore in assembling the upper, the lining and facing have been stretched around the-last and secured together while stretched and without'regard to the arrangement thereof to afford vexpansibility, with `the result that in the completed article there is very little if anystretching capability which will permit the overshoe to shape itself to accommodate legs, ankles and insteps of'diflerentsizes and compensateA for heels of different heights.-

lIn my construction I place the lining 7 around the last, merely stretching same suficientl so that it fits smoothly and leaving it capa le of stretching to a considerable further extent. The linin consists of a fabric, usually knitted so that 1t stretches very little in the direction of its length, but is quite extensible transversely, and I arrange the lining which constitutes the main portion of the two sections so that the lesser'degree of stretchingis in the up and down direction,

whilethe greater degree of stretching is in a direction around the upper as indicated by the arrows 8 in Fig. 1, so as to make the uper capable of circumferential enlargement. oreover, the lining constituting the main along the instep but is terminated at both sides of the shoe approximately along the line 9, and the lining of the instep and toe portion of the shoe is formed of a separate'piece 10 which isarranged so that the lesser degree of stretching is from front to back, While the portion of the two sections is not continued l greater degree is in a direction across and over extensible material, 'usually knitted lso that it stretchesvquite readily cross-wise, is preferably madeof one piece laid over the toe and drawn over the lastvso that at all points it stretches most readily in a direction crosswise of the line of opening down the front of the shoe, that is, in the direction indicated-by the arrow 11 over the instep and in the direction indicated by the arrows 8 around the up.

per, the goods being swungsomewhat outof line to accomplish this result. This facing howeyer, is laid over the lastwithout stretching to any greater extent than is necessary 'to properly shape same and cause it to lay smoothly, to the end that the ,facing like the lining in the completed shoe, is capable of stretching to a considerable extent.

The facing andV lining are provided with a coating on the inner and outer surfaces respectively and/secured together by means of this coating or otherwise combinedl so as to provide a Athin layer'li of rubber or other suitablezmaterial-which serves 'as a Waterproofing, and preferably has special elastic properties. When using rubber for this purpose, it is of a special compound in which very little mineral pigment 1s used so that the rubber itself not only hasample elasticity to permit required stretching of the upper so as to permit enlargement of the leg, ankle and instep portions as may be required to fit legs, ankles an'd insteps of various sizes, but also has better aging qualities.

, The portion of the upper over the instep usualy requires a greater degree of extensibility than the rest of the upper, in View of the fact that variations in the height of the heels of the shoes over which the overshoe is worn, materially changes the elevation of the instep and in order to obtain additional extensibility at this point the foxing 15 `around the lower edge of the upper is made elastic. Heretofore it been the practice to use a non-elastic friction' strip around the shoe betweenvthe lower edge of the facing and the sole and,

cover same with a thin coating of rubber so that there was practically no stretch to the foxing. In my construction this friction strip is omitted as shown in Fig. 4, and a rather heavy layer 15 of rubber or other material which is quite elastic, is interposed between the lower edge of the facing 13 and the sole 16' directly over the lining, and asthe lining 10 which extends over the inste and is brought down and turned in as at 1 between the outer sole land inner sole 18 stretches readily in the direction of the arrow 11, the foxin is likewiseextensible in the proper direction to afford additional enlargement over the instep.

In overshoes of this character it is customary to provide a iiap on the inside of the overshoe extending from the up r to the lower end of the opening between t e separable side portions of the overshoe, this flap being preferably in the form of a bellows tongue 30, which is folded back along each side, as at 34, and has the forwardedges secured respectively to the forward ed es of the side portions 2`and 3 of the overs oe. The fasteners 4 in practice are attached to tapes 32 which are cemented or otherwise secured to the .inf ner faces of the forward ed es of the side portions 2 and 3, and the forward edges ofthe inturned portions 31 of the bellows tongue 30 are preferably secured directly to the inner faces of the respective tapes 32 as indicated at- 33 in F ig. 2, and the lining 7 being preferably terminated adjacent the inner edges of the tape and back of the point of connection of the edges of the side portions 31 of the tongue with the tape. y

In view of the fact that with an elastic structure such as I have hereto described, the overshoe fits snugly over the instep and around the leg, the slider 5 operates in close contact with the outer surface of the ton e 30, and it follows that wrinkling or folding of the tongue islikely to interfere with the proper operation of the slider. To avoid such interference `and insure a smooth surface along which the slider ma operate, the tongue 30 is preferably forme with a strip of reinforcing which extends from end to end of the tongue midway between the side folds 34; so as to be positioned directly under the path of movement of the slider 5.A This reinv forcin may be applied in any manner, as forl examp e, by inserting a strip of rubber or" -otherstifening material 35, having suflicient iexibilit so as not to interfere with the proper unetioninfr of the tongue, between two layers of fabric of which the vtongue is` composed. This stripA of reinforcing material 35, itwill be observed, serves to hold the ton e suiciently extended so as to avoid any fp ding or creasing of the tongue along the lineA of movement of the slider, and insures a smooth surface over which the slider While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, l am aware that various changes and modifications 4may bel made without departing from the principles of my invention, the scope of which-is to be determined by i' the appended claims.

I claim as m invention: i

1. The combination of a shoe divided down lthe front to afford separable side portions,

sible around the shoe transversely thereof.

2. The combination of a shoe divided down the front to afford separable side portions,I the latter having series of locking elements on the opposed edges thereof and adapted to be inter ocked and released by moving a cam member therealong, said side portions comprising a knitted fabric arranged to stretch to the greamstextent along lines substantially at right angles to the line of division down the front of the shoe and extending continuously from one series of locking elements around the leg to the other series of locking elements. f

3. The combination of a shoe divided down the front to afford separable side portions, the latter having series of locking elements on the opposed ed es thereof and adapted to be interlockedan released by moving a cam member therealong, said side portions consisting' of inner and outer layers of knitted fabric with an' interposed elastic material and be interlocked and released by moving a cam v member therealong, said side portions being elastically expansible around the leg and over the instep and comprising a correspondingly expansible one piece outer covering of facin material over the toe, around t e leg portion of the shoe.

-if) portions adaptedL to be interlocked and re- 5. In a shoe, the combination of an upper with separable portions and consisting of inner and outer substantiall unstretched layers of extensible fabric with a layer of 5l'elastic material interposed therebetween to adord a circumferentially expansible upper,

and a quick o erating fastener for'connecting the separa le portions of the upper, said fastener comprising a series of interlocking elements on the edges of said a sliding member for interloc leasing same. l

6. In a shoe, the combination of an upper ng rand rey having se arable portions and composed of an extensi le facing and an extensible lining secured together in a substantially uhstretched condition, and a quick o erating portion and a front portion, the former of which extends around 'the back of the shoe and up and down the leg portion thereof'and is extensible circumferentially around the upper, and the front portion of which is arranged vat an angle to the main portion of thev lining land is extensible across and over the' instep, said 'shoebeing divided down the front and having an op osed seriesV of fastener elements on the e ges of the divided leased by movementof a cam member `therealong. 8. In a shoe, the combination of an upper and a sole and a foxing interposed between the upper and the sole, said foxing comprising elastic material adapted to yield 1n a direction to permit raising and lowering of the instep portion of the upper, and a cor, responding y extensible`liningsecured to the inside of the foxin down the front an `avin an opposed series of fastener elements ont eeedges of the divided portions adapted tobe interlockedand "l released by movement of acam member therealong. l

9. In a shoe, the combination-df an upper comprising elastic material adapted to expand circumferentially around the upper "and to-expand across andover Vthe instep, a sole, and a foxing of elasticrmaterial interposed between the upper "and sole and adapte ed to expand in a direction toaugment th(` expansion of the portion of the upper over? the instep, said shoe being divided wn the pprtions, and

said shoe being divided front and having an op osed series of'fastener elementsv on the e ges of the divided portions adapted to be interlocked and re' leased by movement of a cam member therealong.

10. In a shoe, the combination of a highl elastic upper with sepa-rableportions, a quick operating fastenercomprising a series of vinterlocking elements on the adjoinin4 edges of said portions and a sliding mem er for interlocking and releasing the same, and a flap inside the-shoe havlng a reinforcing member extending. len hwise thereof under the meeting edges of t e separable portions of the upper to form a bearing surface for the sliding member, saidfiap .bein secured along at least one lateral ed e to 51e up er so as to locate the said rein orcing mem l' under the path of the saidfsliding member.

- 11. In a shoe', thecombination of a highly elastic upper with` separable portions, a quick operating fastener for connecting said portions com risinga series of interlocking elements' on t e adjoining edges of saidv ortions and. a sliding member for interloc ing and releasing same, and a bellows ton e in the shoe havlng portions at each side olded inwardl `over the front and secured to the .edges o the separable portions and having the intermediate portion of the tongue between the side folds thickened so as to stifen the portion of the ton ue between thefoldedl side portions and a ordarsm'ooth surface along which the sliding member operates.

12. In a shoe, thevcxnbination of an' upper with separable side portions, a-tape'secured to the inner face of each of said portions adjacent the edge thereof, a series of interlocking elements on each tape, a sliding memberv for interlocking and releasing the same, a bellowstonguein the shoehaving a portionl at each side folded forwardly thereover, with the forward edges thereof extendl ing over and secured to the inner surface of the corresponding tape, and a lining extend- "ing around' the interior of and secured to thev inner surface of the u per and terminatin at the rear. of the overlapped and connecte g portions of the upper, tape and xbellows tongue. l

13. An overshoe of highly flexible, appre- -ciablyr elastic andl substant1ally,waterproof construction and-having its upper formed with an expansion opening, a tongue underlying the opening and attached to the upper, and means for effecting a continuous, flat,

nedge-to-edge union ofthe vmargins ofl the upper at the expansion opening, the said meanscomprising a row'of interlocking ele- -mentssecured at eachmargin of the opening tothe up erand a cam slide engaging the elements o J both rows and movable longitudinally thereon to lock and to unlocklsaid elements, said upper .being composed of stretchy, fabric assembledin a substantially y unstretched condition with a layer of rubber composition andarranged to stretch freely along lines transverse to the expansion opening.

14. In a shoethe combination of a close fitting upper having separable elastic portions, series ofinterlocking elements along the opposed edges of said separable portions,

= a member in the shoe with a portion thereof adapted to be positioned at the meeting edges `of the separable portions and reinforced there along, and a cam member operable alon theV aforesaidV Vseries of elements and bearing against Athe reinforced portionof said first mentioned member to stretch the separable elastic portions of the upper and progressively interlock the opposed series of elements. i

15. 1n a shoe the combination of a close fitting upper h aving separable elastic portions, series of interlocking elements along the opposed edges vof said separable portions, a

'tongue in the shoe With a portion thereof adapted to be positioned at themeeting edges of the separable portions and said tongue having an elongated strip of reinforcing incorporated therewith along said meeting edges, and a cam member slidable along said strip of reinforcing to stretch the said separable elastic portions of the upper andprogressively interlock the opposed series of elements.

l sitioned at the meeting edges of th rable portions of the upper, and a cani member operable over said elongated strip of reinforcing to progressively interlock the opposed series of elements.

17. In a shoe the combination of a close fitting upper with separable portions having a v lining of stretchy fabric assemb ed in a substantially unstretched condition With a layer of rubbercomposition thereover so as to have appreciable elasticity. along lines transverse to the line of separation of the aforesaid separable portions of the upper, a quick- 1 operating fastener for connecting the separable portions ofthe upper, said. fastener comprising a series of interlocking elements l A4on each of said portions with a cam member operable therealong for interlocking and releasing same, and a member in the shoe positioned at the meeting edges of the sepaboth highly extensible transverse to the front opening and aording a substantial amount of enlargement of the upper.

19. The combination of a shoe having an upper divided down the front into separable portions, and a non-adjustable connection thereforcomprising a series of fasteners on each portion which interlock With the series of fasteners on the other. portion, said upper being composed of layers of highly stretchy fabric and highly elastic rubber composition extending therea-roundand vulcanized together with the fabric in a substantially unstretched condition iso as to permitstretching of the upper to substantially larger sizes.

20. 'A combined stocking protector and overshoe comprising a foot fitting portion, an attached ankle encircling portion, the major part of which is of light Weight elastic material and having a longitudinal slit, and a plurality of closely spaced fastener elements along each side of said slit, the fastener elements on one side interlocking with the elements on the other whereb when closed, the edges of the slit are ad]acent and the ankle encircling lportion is stretched to effect the desire fit.

21. The combination of a shoe having a rubber composition solej and an upper of highly flexible appreciably" elastic and substantially Waterproof construction, extended down to the sole, said upper being formed with an expansion opening and a tongue in the shoe at said opening, a non-adjustable connection for the side edges of said opening comprising a series of interlocking elements along each edge of the expansion opening and a cam member Operable along the series of interlocking elements and over the tongue to progressively lock and unlock said elements, said upper being Ihighly extensible around the shoe transversely thereof.

GEORGE W. BLAIR.

rable portions of the upper and over which Y the said cam member operates.

18. The combination of a shoe'having an upper divided,down the fgront into separable portions, and a non-adjustable connection 

